Oscar Pistorius’ release from prison to house arrest on parole might not happen on Friday as it was originally scheduled.
On Wednesday, Justice Minister Michael Masutha ruled a parole board’s June decision to approve Pistorius for house arrest starting this Friday was made prematurely and “without any legal basis” in a statement.
“The offender was not eligible to be considered at all [in June],” the statement read.
Pistorius is required to serve one-sixth of his five-year sentence, or 10 months, before being considered for placement under correctional supervision, or house arrest. Pistorius won’t hit the 10-month mark until this Friday, meaning a decision can’t be made on moving the runner to house arrest until that date.
A parole review board will decide if and when Pistorius will be moved to house arrest. The statement did not say when that decision will be made.
Pistorius was sentenced Oct. 21 to no more than five years in jail after being found guilty of culpable homicide, but not murder, for shooting and killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013.
It was reported in October that Pistorius, the first double amputee to run in the Olympics in 2012, could serve 10 months of the sentence in jail and the rest under house arrest.
In March, Steenkamp’s mother said she didn’t care about a prosecution’s appeal after it deemed Pistorius’ sentence “shockingly light.”
“I don’t want him to suffer in any way, because he’s a disabled person,” June Steenkamp said, according to The Associated Press.
Reeva Steenkamp would have turned 32 years old Wednesday.